EU structure

This subtopic contains a range of resources on the structure and functions of EU institutions, as well as the EU legal system and core principles.

EU institutions

The EU institutional framework consists of seven main institutions that each represent different interests and have been allocated executive, legislative, judicial and other powers. The main EU institutions are:

  1. the European Council

  2. the European Parliament

  3. the European Commission

  4. the Council of the European Union

  5. the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)

  6. the European Central Bank (ECB)

  7. the European Court of Auditors (ECA)

The European Council sets the EU's overall political direction, but has no powers to pass laws. It comprises national heads of state or government and meets for a few days at a time every four to six months to decide on broad political priorities and major initiatives. The European Council makes decisions by consensus, except if the EU Treaties provide otherwise. For further reading, see Practice Note: Guide to the European Council.

There are three main institutions involved in EU legislation:

  1. the European Parliament, at which elected MEPs represent European citizens

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Latest EU Law News

Automated decision-making and DSARs: right to access means a right to explainability (CK v Magistrat Der Stadt Wiendun & Bradstreet Austria GMBH)

Information Law analysis: The Court of Justice provided several clarifications around the scope of data subject access requests (DSARs) in the context of automated decision-making. The court held the determining factor for whether information constitutes ‘meaningful information about the logic involved’ under Article 15(1)(h) of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR) is whether the information enables the data subject to understand the logic involved in automated decision-making involving their personal data. The court also held disclosure by controllers should be underpinned by the principles of transparency, which requires information to be clear, accessible and intelligible, both in terms of content and form, from the perspective of data subjects. In the context of automated decision-making this doesn’t necessarily mean providing the exact algorithm, if it doesn’t help the data subject’s understanding of the ‘how’. The court confirmed DSARs do not mandate the disclosure of trade secrets, but this can only be decided by the relevant supervisory authority or competent court, after assessing all relevant information provided to them by a controller. The protection of trade secrets cannot be used as a blanket excuse by businesses to withhold certain information from individuals making a request under Article 15(1)(h) of the EU GDPR. Written by Marija Nonkovic, associate at Kemp IT Law LLP.

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